cloud_9About time too; finally the man seems to have some sort of back-bone after all.
That said, this does not excuse, nor does it does it justify his & other top level management figures within BA for their “combative/macho” style handling of the current situation within the company.
Towards the end of the latest period of strikes, I must admit I was actually slowly beginning to see BA’s side of the argument, however, whatever ground that they made up on me then was very swiftly lost when I read the front page of the Financial Times the other day in which Willie Walsh was quoted as saying that he still has not ruled out the possibility of sacking those members of staff that went on strike…surely a man as big and powerful as Wille Walsh would like to believe he is should know that he cannot legally get rid of someone for what was a perfectly legal mandated ballot, and a fundamental human right to go on strike!:mad:
What I suspect will now ensue thoughout BA, will be a manipulative and vindictive campaign against those people that did go on strike in order to force them out altogether, even if an agreement is soon reached with Unite, and this would be an utter disgrace, but that is just my opinion.
Interestingly, I have just been asked by my branch of Unite to vote on a pay offer from my company (sorry, can’t go into specifics!), and I voted to accept the deal. Whilst this may come as surprise to some on here, especially considering the level of support I put up in favour of the strikes at BA, I chose to accept the new pay conditions because the company I work for is only relatively new in comparison to something like BA which has been around for years and has let these kind of problems manifest themselves into what is happening today rather than tackling the problems in a better way, whereas our management have been quite good about the whole situation and offered to sit down and negotiate an agreeable settlement, so much so that the new offer was overwhelmingly accepted by a huge majority.
cloud_9Wet-leasing due to shortage of crews apparently.
Thats very strange because EZY only recently had a massive recruitment drive for new crews…my sister applied for cabin crew and was accepted, only to be told that she was on a “waiting list”, and still has not been told when she will actually start?
So if they are short of crews, why don’t they train up the new recruits that they’ve just hired and have on their “waiting list” so that they then don’t have to go to extra expense of leasing aircraft from other operators.
B757 looks horrible in EZY colours in my opinion, although it might be interesting to see it if it were to have blended winglets on it.
This could also have an impact on BA, as I have seen Air Finland 757s and Titan 757/767s operating for them as part of their “contingency” fleet that they are using whilst trying to break the union, so it will be interesting to see how they can cope if the aircraft they used the last time are not available the next time round?
cloud_9On a lighter note regarding phones on planes. This is just one of those mundane flights but something happend to make it a bit more memorable. MD-80 CPH-MAN, run of the mill stuff. After landing in Manc, pulling into the normal spot at gate 24, cabin crew give the all clear to switch on our mobiles. Well a sea of nokia “start up” tunes filled the cabin. You know the one? Da Da Da Da–Da Da Da Da–Da Da Da Da Daaaaaa…Maybe 20 phones all with the same tune one after the other. Well, some poor sod switches on a Motorola or Sony/Erricson or whatever it was, the tune plays and…… the whole cabin goes silent, then some guy let’s out a “wayyyyyyy” and the whole cabin starts cheering and claping at this guy with the odd ball phone. Guess you had to be there, but it was a funny end to a regular flight.
LMAO. Certainly made me chuckle, thanks for sharing!:)
I may have told this story before, but as its relevant to the topic at hand, I’ll tell it again. When I was on a BD flight MAN-LHR last year, we were all boarded onto the flight and told that once the main cabin door had been closed, all mobile phones and PEDs had to be turned off…well, throughout the taxi to the runway a phone could be heard ringing loudly so the senior cabin attendant came on the PA system and demanded that all passengers turn off their mobile phones immediately…it was only then that one of her colleagues pointed out that it was in fact her phone that was going off in her handbag in the rear galley so she sheepishly and rather red-faced had to walk through the cabin in order to get to the rear galley to turn it off!:D
As for the ongoing debate, simple point to make, do as you are told and turn it off, now there’s a good lad!;)
cloud_9Did you book the flights together or separately?
If you booked them together, then SQ should help to find an alternative flight to TPE for you if you miss the onward connection, providing the reason for any delay is caused by the airline itself (i.e late arrival).
If you booked them separately then sadly you will have to bear the brunt of any costs involved in changing your ticket over to the later flight as you have signed two separate contracts, even if its the same carrier that is taking you to TPE!
A lot of people choose the second option because it can in some cases work out to be cheaper than the first, but what they fail to take into account is the potential cost involved in changing the tickets over, and especially so if you have to fork out for an overnight stay before travelling onwards to your final destination!
cloud_9Howdy….
Went to LHR Yesterday where the weather was suppose to be great, Course for me that was way to good to be true.
Was really good to Meet Fellow Forum Member Cloud_9 there. :):)
Hope you Enjoy Viewing….
Rob
🙂
Great shots Rob, so glad we finally got a chance to meet each other face-to-face at long last.
Next time I will remember to bring my memory card with me so that I can actually take some photos!:D:o
cloud_9As long as you check-in and print your boarding pass for both flights beforehand, I would think that it is possible…the aircraft will operate in and out of T4, so once you arrive, just follow the purple Flight Connections signs, go through security and then head into the Departure Lounge and on to the gate for the return sector?!
cloud_9I totally agree with the new Government’s decision to scrap the third runway at LHR!
The last time I checked, this country had a £163bn deficit hanging over our heads…scrapping the third runway and sixth terminal at Heathrow has saved an estimated £9bn, so we are already starting to make progress on reducing this!
cloud_9Alex Salmond was banking on a Lab-Lib deal…
Well judging by comments made by Lord (Paddy) Ashdown last night after leaving the Lib Dem parlimentary & executive meeting/s, it appears Labour wasn’t really all that interested in a coalition as they didn’t bring anything constructive to the table during the negotitations.
To sum it up, I think at the end of the day Labour had finally decided that they’d had enough and thought…”you know what, lets give it up, re-group over the next 5 years, possibly two parliaments (if necessary!), and soon the electorate will find out exactly how savage the Tories cuts will be on public services that they’ll all be crying out for us to come back into power and we’ll win with a landside in a future election.”
Obviously I am hoping that this doesn’t happen, seeing as I voted and hoped for a Tory majority, but I am very pleased with the new coalition deal and hope that it all works out well for both parties, but more importantly, the country.
cloud_9Alex Salmond was banking on a Lab-Lib deal…
Well judging by comments made by Lord (Paddy) Ashdown last night after leaving the Lib Dem parlimentary & executive meeting/s, it appears Labour wasn’t really all that interested in a coalition as they didn’t bring anything constructive to the table during the negotitations.
To sum it up, I think at the end of the day Labour had finally decided that they’d had enough and thought…”you know what, lets give it up, re-group over the next 5 years, possibly two parliaments (if necessary!), and soon the electorate will find out exactly how savage the Tories cuts will be on public services that they’ll all be crying out for us to come back into power and we’ll win with a landside in a future election.”
Obviously I am hoping that this doesn’t happen, seeing as I voted and hoped for a Tory majority, but I am very pleased with the new coalition deal and hope that it all works out well for both parties, but more importantly, the country.
cloud_9Great shots there Danny, thanks for sharing, particularly like the shot of the Avro Business Jet of Cello Aviation, which is a new private operator based at BHX!
Mind me asking what might be a rather stupid question, but how did you get to go to EBACE, isnt it a private event for members of EBAA, or do you work for a private jet company? PM me if necessary.:)
cloud_9Well I am not entirely sure that I will loose my job, there are a few options that could be available when the time comes, but I can’t do/say anything about it because even I don’t know anything yet…unfortunately thats the way these things are handled, and sadly it is often that the workers on the frontline are the last people to find out anything!
I’ll send you a PM nearer the time.;)
cloud_9I’m not staying there. I’m parking up at BAA staff car park E, and its apparently next to the Jury’s Inn, so I used that as an example 🙂
Which company are going to be working for A330-300? (PM me if you’d rather not tell everyone!;))
I am pretty sure that BAA staff car parks have their own bus services to/from the terminals…well at least the one I use does, and that is not all that far from Hatton Cross as well, so I can’t see why it would be different anywhere else?
cloud_9I wonder whether this merger will accelerate CO’s move from T4 to T1 at LHR?
They were already offered a chance to move, but the airline declined it as it would have meant all CO flights being parked on remote stands due to the construction work going on at T1/T2.
Either way, it looks very much like I will be looking for a new job very soon!:(
cloud_9Hate to say it PeeDee, but its a)…;)
Cracking picture though, thanks for sharing.:)
cloud_9Well latest news is that CO and UA are in “advanced” merger talks…
– United Airlines would be the surviving brand.
– Jeff Smisek (Continental’s Chairman and Chief Executive), would head the combined company
– Glenn Tilton (United’s Chairman and Chief Executive) would become Chairman of the combined company.
– The new company would be based in Chicago, where United has its headquarters.
According to news report, the merger could be agreed within a matter of weeks, and it would create the world’s largest airline by passenger numbers.
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